Isro: S-band deal is being cancelled

As political attacks mounted on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on yet another alleged spectrum scam, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Tuesday announced that a process to terminate the suspect deal is underway.

The space agency claimed there was no financial loss to the government on account of the 2005 contract between its commercial arm, Antrix, and Devas Multimedia, floated by a former Isro official, for use of scarce S-band spectrum.

However, at a late evening press conference, Isro Chairman K Radhakrishnan admitted that details of the contract, which gave Devas rights to 90 per cent of transponders on two satellites, were not shared with the space commission or the Union Cabinet.

“One point that was not explicitly mentioned (to the Union Cabinet) was that GSAT 6 and GSAT 6A satellites are going to be predominantly used for this novel and commercial application that Antrix had entered into with Devas,” he said.

The Isro press conference came after a denial by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of media reports claiming that Devas had been allotted 70 MHz of spectrum for Rs 1,000 crore. It said no decision has been taken and, hence, charges of a revenue loss of Rs 2 lakh crore were without basis.

The Isro chief clarified that no spectrum, transponders or satellites had yet been given to Devas or Antrix. “The question of revenue loss does not arise,” said Radhakrishnan, who was accompanied by former ISRO chief and Planning Commission Member K Kasturirangan.

He said a process to review the contract was initiated on December 8, 2009 and it would be completed soon. “In December 2009, I instituted a committee with a former member of the space commission for a comprehensive review of all matters,” he said.

To a question whether the Prime Minister was aware of the deal, he said the contract was finalised by the Antrix board and that he had taken the matter to the space commission. “After the decision, I broached the matter with the Prime Minister, who is our minister in-charge, and that is why the PMO issued a press note on the issue on Tuesday,” he said.

“We have come to a decision. But the review process is very complex and that is what we are going through, because we have to ensure the government does not incur loss or suffer damage,” said Radhakrishnan. He said the law ministry is also being consulted on the termination process.

“As of now, we have a contract. It has not been terminated. The process to terminate it is on. The decision to terminate was taken in July 2010. We are in the process of doing it,” Radhakrishnan said.